First, Second, and Third person, are an indispensable part of communicating in English. These are called personal pronouns.
What are pronouns?
The first person pronouns are I, we, us, our, ourselves, me, my, mine and myself. It means the idea or concept is explained from one’s own perception, idea, or experience.
Examples
I like to play soccer during the weekend.
We have hired a tour guide for sightseeing.
Our bus had a flat tyre and we had to wait for an hour at the bus stop.
The chores were equally distributed between Rachel and me.
The second person pronouns are you, your, yours, yourself, and yourselves. Here, one refers to another person (or a group of persons) who are listening to or reading what a person is saying.
Examples
You like to play soccer during the weekend.
You have hired a tour guide for sightseeing.
Your bus had a flat tyre and you had to wait for an hour at the bus stop.
The chores were equally distributed between Rachel and you.
The third person pronouns are he, him, his, himself, she, her, hers, herself, it, its, itself, they, them, their, theirs, and themselves. It explains a story or situation of a person (or persons) who is not practically a part of the conversation/narrative between two people.
Examples
He likes to play soccer during the weekend.
They have hired a tour guide for sightseeing.
Their bus had a flat tyre and they had to wait for an hour at the bus stop.
The chores were equally distributed between Rachel and her.
Pro tip: Consistency in the language enhances the overall writing quality. So, always ensure you are consistent with the use of pronouns throughout the writing.
Let’s consider the paragraph given below to illustrate.
Inconsistent use of pronouns: The company provides language services. We help authors publish their manuscripts successfully in international journals. Its services include proofreading, editing, and translation.
Here, ‘the company’ is the third-person, ‘we’ is the first-person, and ‘its’ is the third-person. Always ensure you retain the same pronoun throughout the content for clarity and coherence.
Consistent use of pronouns: The company provides language services. It helps help authors publish their manuscripts successfully in international journals. Its services include proofreading, editing, and translation.
Be woke, be gender neutral
We hope we’ve helped you better understand the pronouns and how to use it. In the next part of the blog, we will clear the concepts of Subject and Object Pronouns. So, stay tuned!